Flexible counter



Aug. 21, 1962 A. W. DAVIS FLEXIBLE COUNTER Filed A Pill 22, 1957hv/nvro/e: H/VDREW w. Dav/5,

WMWM? nTroRA/E Vs Patented Aug. 21, 1962 3,049,815 FLEXIBLE COUNTERAndrew Wilhurn Davis, Madison, 1111., assignor to The Proctor Counter(30., St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Missouri Filed Apr. 22, 1957,Ser. No. 654,115 3 Claims. (Cl. 36-68) The present invention relatesgenerally to the shoe art, and more particularly to a novel shoe counterhaving a flexible upper portion. This application is acontinuation-in-part of my application Serial No. 615,139, filed October10, 1956, now Patent No. 2,877,571 granted March 17, 1959.

In brief, the present novel counter incorporates an upper edge portionin which are flexibility giving openings which may be rows of orrandomly disposed spaced apertures, perforations, slits which extendpart way through the material from one or both sides or wholly throughthe material, Wells, and the like, preferably extending substantiallythe full length of the counter, determining, in effect, lines or areasof weakness along which the upper edge of the counter may be readilyflexed or bent. The present invention is particularly adapted to fibercounters, or the like, which are normally quite stiff even in the skivedarea. When the upper portion of a fiber counter, or the like, is formedto incorporate the present invention, it is quite suitable for use in ashoe. In addition, the apertures, perforations, slits, wells, or thelike, afford passage of or receive adhesive to more firmly securetogether the rear quarter, the counter, and the lining.

Leather counters are inherently soft, but they are too expensive forquantity-produced shoes manufactured for sale to the public atrelatively low prices. The fiber counter, or counters of similarmaterial, are inexpensive, but they are inherently stiff, even in theskived areas along the upper edge. Numerous efforts have been made torender the upper edge of the fiber counter flexible enough to provide acomfortable heel area for shoes. The present invention is a practicalsolution to the long standing problem.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a shoecounter of fiber or similar material having a flexible upper portionwhich will be comfortable in the heel of a shoe.

Another object is to provide a novel counter of fiber or similarmaterial which incorporates a plurality of spaced openings in or throughthe upper portion thereof, rendering such upper portion flexible.

Another object is to provide a novel counter of fiber or similarmaterial including a flexible upper edge in which apertures are formedin a predetermined pattern.

Another object is to provide a novel counter of fiber, or the like,having slits, or the like, in the material along the upper portion in arandom, parallel line, or other selected pattern which renders theaffected area flexible.

Another object is to provide a novel counter of fiber or similarmaterial having a flexible upper edge portion incorporating a pluralityof parallel lines of spaced apertures which follow the upper edge of thecounter and which render the apertured area flexible so that acornfortable fit obtains in the heel of a shoe in which the counter isplaced.

Another object is to provide a novel counter or" fiber or similarmaterial which is inexpensive, yet which incorporates flexibility in theupper portion thereof.

Another object is to provide a novel flexible counter incorporatingapertures in the upper area affording passage therethrough of adhesive.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages are apparent from thefollowing description taken with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a counter blank incorporating one form of thepresent invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragment of the upper portion of the counterblank shown in FIGURE 1 illustrating one form of aperture which may beemployed in carrying out the present invention;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged transverse cross-sectional view takensubstantially on the line 33 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is an isometric view of a formed fiber counter incorporatingthe present invention;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary transverse cross-sectional view through theheel of a shoe showing the passage of adhesive, the adhesive beingexaggerated as to thickness for clarity of illustration;

FIGURE 6 is a plan View of a counter blank incorporating a second formof the present invention;

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken substantially on theline 7-7 of FIGURE 6; and

FIGURE 8 is a view similar to FIGURE 7, illustrating the effectivenessof the slits when the upper portion of the counter is flexed.

Referring to the drawing more particularly by reference numerals andconsidering FIGURES 15, 10 indicates generally a fiber shoe counterblank having an upper edge 12 and a lower edge 14. As is clear fromFIGURE 3, the upper edge portion 16 is skived or feathered in the usualmanner of making counters. Apertures 18 are formed in the skived portion16, being presently illustrated as four rows of substantially equallyspaced lines of apertures 18. It is to be understood that the aperture18 may take any desired configuration and that it may be formed byremoval of material, as illustrated, or by a piercing action whichcompresses the material around the edges of the aperture.

A formed counter 20 is shown in FIGURE 4. The material adjacent thelower edge 14 is crimped at 22, as is well known in the art. The upperskived portion 16 incorporating the apertures 18 is quite flexible andpliable so that when the counter 20 is incorporated in a shoe, the heelwill be comfortable on the wearer.

In FIGURE 5, the counter It) is shown between an outer rear quarter 24and a lining 26 of the rear portion 28 of a shoe. Adhesive 30 applied toboth sides of the counter 11 also passes through the apertures 18,thereby more firmly securing the three parts together.

In FIGURES 6-8 is shown a second form of the pres ent invention. A fibercounter blank 40 has an upper edge 42 and a lower edge 44. An upper edgeportion 46 is skived or feathered. Short slits or gashes 48 are made inthe upper portion 46, which, as shown, preferably do not pass whollythrough the material, although, for some uses, complete penetration maybe desirable and is contemplated as within the present invention. Theslits 4-8 are illustrated in straight parallel rows, but such slits maybe disposed in random patterns, or in rows such as are shown in FIGURE1, or otherwise as desired, to obtain flexibility of the upper portion46.

The illustrated slits 48 may be formed by piercing the material withknife blades. When the material is deformed, the slits 48 open up asshown in FIGURE 8, hence, the upper portion 46 is flexible and thecounter formed from the blank 40 is quite comfortable in a shoe. Theslits 48 may be made in both sides of the blank 40, as may other formsof openings which do not go all the way through the counter material.

The invention also includes the use of wells of any desired crosssection in lieu of the apertures 18 or the slits 48, which may be formedby removal or by compression of material in the upper portion of thecounter. One suitable well would have a transverse cross section likethe spread slits 48 in FIGURE 8. The invention also includes theapertures, slits, and the like, extending transversely of the counter,as well as longitudinally, as shown.

The apertures 18, the slits 48, the wells, and the like, are allconsidered broadly to be included in the scope of the term openings,whether the penetration is into or through the upper portion of thecounter to provide flexibility thereof.

The present invention is illustrated as applied to a fiber counter.However, it is to be understood that counters of other material,including leather, leather boards, plastic, etc., may incorporate thepresent invention.

It is to be understood that the foregoing description and theaccompanying drawing have been given only by Way of illustration andexample. It is further to be understood that changes in the form of theelements, rearrangement of parts, or the substitution of equivalentelements, all of which will be apparent to those skilled in the art, areconsidered within the scope of the present invention which is limitedonly by the claims which follow.

What is claimed is:

l. A shoe counter comprising a main body, and a flexible upper portion,said upper portion incorporating a plurality of spaced short slitsdistributed thereover extending into the counter from the outer sidethereof providing flexibility, said slits being substantially closedwhen the counter material adjacent thereto is in a flat position, saidshort slits being disposed in spaced rows longitudinally of saidcounter, said slits comprising substantially clean cuts havingsubstantially no loss of material thereby reducing gaping of said slitsto a minimum when said counter is used in shoe making.

2. A shoe counter comprising a main body, and a flexible upper portion,said upper portion including a plurality of spaced longitudinal rows oflongitudinally spaced slits which penetrate the shoe counter materialfor a depth less than the thickness thereof at the point of penetration,opposed slits in spaced rows being offset, said slits extending into thecounter from the outer side thereof, said slits being substantiallyclosed when the counter material adjacent theretois in a flat position,said slits comprising substantially clean cuts having substantially noloss of material thereby reducing gaping of said slits to a minimum whensaid counter is used in shoe making.

3. A shoe counter comprising a relatively stiff main body having agenerally U-shaped configuration and inturned bottom edges, and arelatively flexible upper portion, said upper portion having a pluralityof rows of spaced elongated slits disposed in end to end relationship,said rows being spaced from each other and said slits providing weakenedareas in said upper portion and rendering it flexible, said slitsextending into the counter from the outer side thereof, said slits beingsubstantially closed when the counter material adjacent thereto is in aflat position, said slits comprising substantially clean cuts havingsubstantially no loss of material thereby reducing gaping of said slitsto a minimum when said counter is used in shoe making.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,653,075 Weichelt Dec. 20, 1927 2,002,093 Engel May 21, 1935 2,084,868Quinn June 22, 1937 2,713,216 Ponce July 19, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 22,673Great Britain Aug. 19, 1909

